Three of the four people who were killed in a massive house explosion that rocked Edmonton’s Lago Lindo neighbourhood Sunday afternoon were homicide victims, police confirmed Thursday.
The death of the fourth person found in the rubble has been deemed “non-criminal” by a medical examiner after an autopsy was done Tuesday.
Police say Jeanne Cathleen Heard, a 47-year-old who owned the home with Dwayne Richard Poirier, 46, died from foul play in relation to the explosion, but Poirier, who was also killed in the blast, didn’t die from foul play.
Brad Winter and Craig Huber were both found dead by emergency crews in a house next door to the explosion. Both were deemed homicide victims.
“We recognize this incident has affected many people who are looking for answers,” said Edmonton police Insp. Darren Eascott. “These investigations take time and to maintain the integrity of the investigation, we will not be releasing partial information.”
Eascott says police are not actively looking for suspects in the case, and when asked if the explosion was a murder-suicide, he said police are still waiting for toxicology results from Poirier’s autopsy.
Police and fire investigators don’t know what caused the blast and it’s still under investigation.
Investigators are also not confirming or denying media reports that they found Heard’s body wrapped and bound.
And police remain tightlipped on other reports that the home was full of natural and propane gas when it blew up.
“Somebody did something to cause their deaths,” Eascott said.
Police will remain in the neighbourhood and that includes hosting an event later next week to address questions from residents.
“We’d like life to get back to normal and we are here to support that,” Eascott said.
